Maternal age and egg weight affect offspring performance in the predatory stink bug Podisus nigrispinus

To investigate influences of maternal age and egg weight on developmental time and body weight of offspring in the Neotropical pentatomid Podisus nigrispinus, a study was carried out using large (0.36 mg) and small (0.32 mg) eggs of young (two-week- old) females and large eggs of old (seven-week-old) females. Incubation period of eggs was influenced only by egg weight, i.e. small eggs took a relatively shorter time to hatch. Both maternal age and egg weight had significant effects on total nymphal and egg-to- adult developmental times. Overall, offspring of young parents had shorter developmental times. None of the developmental periods were significantly affected by sex. No significant differences were found among various offspring groups for percentages of egg hatch, nymphal survival, and sex ratio. Variation of egg weight in relation to the number of eggs per day observed within the first month of life suggests a trade-off between weight of individual eggs and oviposition rate. It is concluded that for mass production of the predators in view of their use in augmentative biocontrol programmes, young parents (2–4 weeks old) should be preferred.